Have you met Erica yet? If you’re a Bank of America customer, you may already know the new virtual financial assistant — or you probably will soon.
According to a new press release, Erica’s adoption rate is on a tear. She’s amassed more than 1 million users just two months after wrapping a phased introduction that began in March.
RELATED: Chase is eliminating these big credit card benefits as of August 26
Meet Erica, your new virtual financial assistant
Erica is billed as the first widely available AI-driven virtual assistant in financial services, and is available for free within the Bank of America mobile app to more than 25 million mobile clients.
Here’s what you need to know about her!
What does Erica do?
She can assist with finding transactions, sending money and paying bills.
Erica can give you your credit score or search for transactions. She can lock and unlock your debit card if you misplace or lose it. She can do something as complicated as pouring through your transaction history to find a check you wrote six months ago, or something as simple as give you your account number.
You interact with Erica by texting, talking or tapping options on your screen.
Erica uses AI to help Y-O-U
Erica is driven by artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and natural language. That means the more you interact with her, the more she’ll learn your patterns and get better at helping you.
“In time, Erica will have the insights to not only help pay a friend or list your transactions at a specific merchant, but also help you make better financial decisions by analyzing your habits and providing guidance,” according to Aditya Bhasin, head of consumer and wealth management technology at Bank of America.
What’s next for Erica?
Over the coming months, Erica will gain more functionality. She’ll be able to let you know about upcoming bills and payments — including subscription renewal alerts; show you spending and budgeting information; and identify ways for you to save more and more.
Finally: Why the name “Erica”?
Look no further than the last five letters of Bank of America’s name for your answer!
Editor’s note:
Money expert Clark Howard has long banged a drum to rally people away from the big banks like Bank of America, as well as Chase, Wells Fargo and Citibank. He believes your banking needs can be better met by credit unions, online banks or small local community banks.
As Clark has long said, “It’s not a question of if, but when you’ll get ripped off by your big bank.”
So with that in mind, consider looking at the alternatives. You can visit ASmarterChoice.org to find a credit union near you.
